LSU College of Agriculture students and students from the Slovak University of Agriculture participated in a panel discussion during the LSU AgCenter’s Global Ag Hour and discussed similarities and differences between the two university systems. Photo by Tobie Blanchard

During their visit to LSU, students from Slovak University of Agriculture participated in events with LSU College of Agriculture students. Here Viktor Varga (left), Ashley Turnstall (center) and Andrej Tárnik (right), play human bingo with other students. Photo by Tobie Blanchard

Students from Slovak University of Agriculture visited Tiger Stadium during their stay in Baton Rouge. Photo provided by David Picha.

BATON ROUGE, La – Thirteen students from Slovak University of Agriculture (SUA) visited LSU as part of a partnership between their university and the LSU AgCenter and LSU College of Agriculture.

The collaboration started last year when faculty from the AgCenter and College of Agriculture visited SUA’s campus in Nitra, Slovakia. This past fall their faculty visited LSU.

David Picha, director of LSU AgCenter International Programs, traveled to Nitra and helped launch this partnership.

“We want to establish a long-term relationship between the two universities with research, teaching, study abroad and outreach opportunities,” Picha said.

College of Agriculture students will visit SUA in June, which has about 10,000 students and is the only university offering an agriculture curriculum in Slovakia.

The Slovak students are learning about Louisiana’s agriculture industry, r research and extension programs, the American university system and student culture on campus.

“We are inspired by the spirit of your campus,” said Lucia Richterová, a Ph.D student at SUA studying economics and management. “This is what I envy. I wish to have a stronger student life, and we hope to bring that back to our campus.”

Students from the two universities discussed the similarities and differences between their educational systems at the AgCenter’s Global Agriculture Hour on Feb. 12.

The students compared administrations, tuition, grading systems, housing and campus life.

One striking difference is university students in Slovakia do not pay tuition.

“We pay minor fees and housing, but tuition is paid for by the government,” said Viktor Varga, a Ph.D student studying horticulture and landscape engineering. He said students may have to pay tuition if it takes them longer than average to complete their degree. Students typically earn their bachelor’s degree in three years.

They can also earn a “red diploma.”

“It has a higher value and means you are excelling at studies,” said Adam Brezáni, an undergraduate studying agrobiology and food resources.

The Slovak students also said they have a grading system that goes from A to E and their grade point averages are weighted opposite of the U.S. system. In Slovakia a 1.0 is an A average.

Also in Slovakia, students rarely switch their course of study and were curious why so many American students change majors.

Mikaela Carender, a sophomore in agriculture education at LSU who has switched majors, said LSU has so much to offer that it is often hard to decide what to study.

“You come here, and it is difficult because you have everything from education to engineering and it can be overwhelming,” she said.

At SUA, students have limited choices in what they can study.

The Slovak students said they liked the infrastructure of LSU’s campus and how it functions like a city, saying it is very different from their campus in Nitra.

They described Nitra as a small city with about 80,000 residents, 20,000 of which are university students from SUA and another university in the city.

“Students create a big share of the economy of the city. Nitra is happy the city has so many students,” Richterová said.

The students were chosen from each discipline to come to the LSU. Richterová said she was surprised by the hospitality they received in the U.S.

“I didn’t know people were so nice,” she said. “We went shopping and everywhere people smile at us and want to help.”

In addition to their time on campus, the students also visited the AgCenter’s Sweet Potato Research Station, the Aquaculture Research Station and Botanical Gardens at Burden.

Ivana Tregenza, coordinator with AgCenter International Programs, said student interaction is an important part of the exchange.

“The biggest value is that they can build this international network that they can have for the rest of their lives,” Tregenza said.

College of Agriculture students will visit Nitra in June as a part of a study abroad program that will also take them to Budapest, Prague and Vienna.

Vladislav Valach, head of SUA international relations said his university is already seeing positive results from the partnership.

“In the span of seven or eight months we come up with ideas that will be beneficial for both parties,” Valach said. SUA is looking into setting up their own food incubator modeled after the AgCenter’s and building a food sensory lab like the one in the AgCenter’s Animal and Food Sciences Laboratory building.

Valach and the visiting students expressed their excitement about hosting LSU students in June.

“I hope your students come to our country, and we provide the same hospitality,” Valach said.

Tobie Blanchard